[Downtown Victoria] Emaar project | 17- & 11-storeys | Canceled

[Rob Randall]

Proposed massing studies courtesy of DeHoog & Kierulf architects.

South side:



North side:

[aastra]

It's too wide. I'd suggest a split down the middle. We were just talking about this on another thread.

[Rob Randall]

That was interesting--transfer that concept photoshop over here.

[aastra]

[Baro]

and obviously the density taken from the middle there will have to go on top! Looks good.

[Scaper]

This was brought up at that meeting. (the two tower design.

The consultant said the only way they could get their density they needed would be if they got 2 X 20 stories...which I think is far better than this.

Thanks for posting this Rob!! Welcome to the site!!!

[zoomer]

wow, that two tower version is significantly better..are we the only people that can see this?! Does anyone prefer the one building rendering, and if so, why?

[Scaper]

The current proposal is way way too fat. It's ridiculous.

Two 20 story towers or a 21 and an 18 would be awesome.

[Mike K.]

I agree. From a distance the detail and curvature of the building will be lost resulting in a massive slab of a building.

[gumgum]

Fortunately, the only people that will really notice that it's too fat are the ones in the Wave, etc. People won't notice from either View or Yates because they meet the ends of the building. The Cap 6 building is chunky and high enough that it will block it completely from Blanshard, apart from seeing the top bit across the street.
I would't like to live in one of those Garden suites/ townhouses on the base on the west side. You'd hardly ever get any direct sunlight.

[gumgum]

The man on the 1st floor look like he's going to jump. He should get a little higher if he wants to be successful.

[Scaper]

hahaha....that's funny!!

[Mike K.]

Originally Posted by gumgum

Fortunately, the only people that will really notice that it's too fat are the ones in the Wave, etc. People won't notice from either View or Yates because they meet the ends of the building. The Cap 6 building is chunky and high enough that it will block it completely from Blanshard, apart from seeing the top bit across the street.
I would't like to live in one of those Garden suites/ townhouses on the base on the west side. You'd hardly ever get any direct sunlight.

True about views directly on either end of the building, but the Capital Six building is equivalent to a three storey building at best which means a 14-storey tower, especially a block-wide slab of a tower, will be clearly visible from across Blanshard (across from Cap 6) and definitely from the Blanshard/Yates intersection. The further an individual will walk from the site the more of the slab they'll see.

The view of The Wave is pretty good from Douglas and Yates so I would imagine a 14-storey slab from even that intersection would be clearly visible.

[Scaper]

This is 16 stories though...not 14 so it would even block out more views of the Cathedral from Haris Green.

[Jarrod]

It it was a quality building that were twins, I could accept it at a lower height. Right now it's ugly.

God, I am sounding like a NIMBY these days ;( Perhaps I know something that others don't know yet...

I'll tell around December...

[Scaper]

you could tell in december if you've turned NIMBY?? hahaha

They need the density. The only way they can acheive it is in a massive spread, "fat scraper" or two slender 20 story towers.

I would choose the towers over the fatscraper anyday.....save some views.

[Jarrod]

LOL...no, not in December, I'll tell you that now...LOL...just joking...haha...

Fat scrapers aside...

Well, slender glass towers do sound nice...

[Rob Randall]

Here's a floorplan of one of the lower levels:

[G-Man]

Ouch so at 16 storeys, cutting it down the middle would make them lose between 60 and 80 units. To recoup that would mean adding an extra 5 to 6 storeys to both towers. Of course who says they need to have it at that density. It could be less. what is the density for this tower?

[Rob Randall]

Thanks for all the valuable, informative feedback.

Here are some stats:

                 Allowed     Proposed
Height          43 m         49.9 m
Storeys         14           16
F.S.R.          3:1          6.55:1 (incl. parking)
                3:1          5.73:1 (w/o parking)
Parking 0.7 stalls/unit      204
Unit count                   203

If you go the two tower route, not only do you lose a large amount of density, you also need two elevators, lobbies etc. which drastically affects the budget.

[Baro]

thanks for the stats, i was trying to work them out my self just from the plan and counting stories ha. I love stats!

[aastra]

If they can't split it completely then they need to do something in the way of an Aria-style cut-out.

This sort of massing represents such a short-sighted mindset. It's as if they think this building will be the last one anybody will ever try to build around there. Problem is, eventually somebody will propose something new on the Capitol 6 site. Having this tremendously wide fatscraper right beside them will only encourage them to go the fatscraper route as well. What's the point of slim towers on the Capitol 6 site if there's a gigantic wall right beside them?

I won't be rooting for this one. It's just the wrong proposal for the site. So close and yet so far.

[G-Man]

Parking 0.7 stalls/unit 204
Unit count 203

I think they need to do some better math. 0.7 stalls per unit would be 142 stalls not 204.

If you estimate an average selling cost of 350 000. They will bring in 71 million dollars. This looks like about a 35 - 40 million dollar building guessing on the looks. I think they can afford to go smaller or split it into two buildings. Selling one at a time.

[gumgum]

My guess is that they'll be going for a more affordable market with this one?

[G-Man]

Originally Posted by aastra

If they can't split it completely then they need to do something in the way of an Aria-style cut-out.

I think this is the most likely way they are going to get approval since they might not want to consider the 2 building idea. The building would look nicer too